Fed by the students of the course "Labour Economics" in Huelva University

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The unemployment rate are still considerably higher among the young people than within the rest of the population in Sweden. The youth are more sensitive too the economic cycles than the the rest of the population. This can be shove by for example that after every recession or crises a increasing number of youth which continues to be unemployed.

Age

Percent

15-24 year

26

25-34 year

8

35-44 year

5

45-54 year

5

55-64 year

4

In Sweden there is a big difference between the unemployment within the youth and the older people. This big difference makes Sweden unique in EU contexts.

The reason for the high youth unemployment in Sweden in a very discussed subject. There are a lot of questions on why the youth unemployment is so much higher than for the rest of the population and ages. The current labor law in Sweden with for instance the rule that says “last in, first out” in employment contexts does not make it easier for the young people to get in to the labour market during difficult times.

An other different aspect is that the step in to the labour market seems to bee to big. The discussion here is that the collaboration between school and the labour market or connections with companies does not work as good as it should or could do.

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7 thoughts on “Unemployment in different age groups, in Sweden.”

This is a very interesting article. I didn´t know that there is such a high youth unemployment rate in Sweden.
It is really true, I also know this problem from Austrian companies, that in times of economic crises, the young employees are always the first to be released.
Furthermore I think it is really hard to get a job as young person without experience in the job, although they have a good education, experience is the most important factor for companies seeking new employees.
Facing this high rate of youth unemployment the Swedish government should try to find strategies to change this, for instance give companies tax incentives for the first two years of hired employees under the age of 25 or something like this.

I also didn’t know of this high unemployment rate among youth in Sweden. yeah, it might be true that when the economy is in difficult situation, young people can be the first one to be out. It’s interesting condition because in Korea, mainly the old one are the first to be released. I think one of the biggest reason is because of lack of job experience. In my opinion, if the unemployment rate is getting higher, the situation will be much worse in the future. They are the one who will lead the future economy of Sweden. The Swedish government give more opportunity to youth to take internship which allow them to have more job experiences.

This article focuses on a really interesting topic, which I have not known before, because in the most points of view Sweden is only seen as a country with a low unemployment rate. To my mind it is worrying that even these countries that have a low unemployment rate have problems with youth unemployment. As it was listed in the table there is an amazing difference between 15-24 year olds and the rest of the working population in Sweden.
It should also be paid some attention to the new labour law “last in, first out”, which was mentioned in the article. In many other countries we are more used to the system of “expensive old ones out, cheaper younger ones in” which leads in most of these countries also to a higher unemployment rate in the area of 50+. From my point of view at the moment the governments are not really able to control the labour market in that way they want, because by taking some action they cause problems in another area. To my mind it looks like as the companies are only searching the best way through the laws to make the highest gains.
It seems to be a good idea to work on the collaboration between school and the labour market, because this would be the possibility for the companies to get young people which are educated on the right way or on their way. This could be a key factor for getting a connection between the companies and the young people, because when companies spend time on education they also want to benefit from the situation by getting a qualified worker.

I also agree with all of yours comment that this is a worrying situation, becousthe young people are the future of the country. And the government really should try to get some solutions for this problem and as mentioned maybe a better collaboration between the schools and the labour market. I also think that a big problem, and a question that is being discussed in Sweden, is that there is a mismatching in the job and education situation. And also that a lot of the young people are over qualified for a lot of jobs that are available. This is a big problem in my opinion but also a very hard one to solve.

This is an interesting fact, but first of all it is alarming. Sure it rose because of the crises, but Sweden didn´t get hit that hard by the crises like Spain, Portugal, Ireland or Greece. The youth unemployment in the European Union was 22,1 percent in December 2011. That is a terrifying number and close to the 26 percent of Sweden. But the number of percent is this high, because for example Spain had back there a youth unemployment of 48,7 percent and Greece 47,2 percent. Austria, Germany and Netherlands lay around 8 percent. So the problem with the youth employment in Sweden is more or less an intern problem, which makes it in my opinion easier to find a solution. It is not that the whole economy suffers, so there should be a plan to fight this case the government should do something, it is there task. I just found it depressive for young people being well-educated but unemployed.

Interesting article Emilie! I also didnt know about this situation, I would imagine it would go the other way..
On the other hand between 15 and 24 years it would seem to me that maybe not all would work mainly because of school and univeristy. Some kids and students maybe got like a part time job or some, but mainly stay and study. Also maybe they group is not that expirienced to the jobs offered…(maybe)
I agree with all the the replies that the government in swe should do something to prevent this to get more unstable. We are talking about the fact they these people are the future and to get them expirienced in working is important!

Anyway there is always a door open for “Söta bror” to Norway, sweds tend to like it very much in Norway! =)